The deleterious effects of cigarette smoking on the pulmonary, cardiovascular and neurological systems are well documented. Although the health hazards of cigarette smoking are widely recognized, efforts directed at motivating people to quit the habit have been unsuccessful. Despite widespread recognition and publication of the health hazards associated with smoking and the proliferation of antismoking campaigns, clinics and therapies, a substantial percentage of the adult and adolescent populations of the world continue to smoke. In fact, recent reports indicate that consumption of cigarettes is increasing.
The need for a less hazardous cigarette is therefore evident. Recent attempts have been made by manufacturers to develop cigarettes with reduced tar and nicotine content. Despite these efforts, cigarettes available on the market today are relatively ineffective in reducing the constituents with which the major risks of smoking are associated. While some cigarettes are effective in the reduction of the larger ash forming particles, such as the aliphathic hydrocarbons, such cigarettes are unacceptable because elimination of these constituents substantially affects the taste and has only a minimal effect on removal of the most dangerous components. Finer filters, capable of filtering out smaller, more dangerous constituents have been proposed, but are not feasible because the increased air resistance such filters would have and the increased cost of manufacture would far outweigh the marginal benefits obtained.
Accordingly, a need arises for a selective cigarette filter which eliminates the most hazardous particulate components of tobacco smoke without significantly increasing the flow resistance of the filter and without removing a disproportionate share of the constituents responsible for taste.